Through the Eyes of a Turtle
by wootrainer
Summary: One-shot...the world seen through the eyes of Raphael


_This is a frame story I had to write for one of my English classes which I thought I would share with any who want to read it, and as you all know I DO NOT own the turtles. But here's the story, see what you think and let me know._

My name is Raphael. Now, in case you don't know me, I'm a Mutant Turtle, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle to be exact. It's early Friday morning and I can just now see the sun startin' to rise above the skyline of the buildings. I'm sittin' here on the ledge of the building at the corner of Main street. I've been here since I stormed out last night, after my argument with Leonardo, so Splinter and Leo are probably goin' crazy worryin' where I'm at. Leo thinks he's all high and mighty and can always stick his nose in my business and tell me what to do. Sometimes I can't stand the guy and just gotta get outta there. So this is where I come to think.

I sit here on top of this building, just watchin' the people down below. Takin' in everything that I'll never be able to have. They think they got it so bad, but they can't even begin to imagine what bad is. What I would give for just one normal day. Go to work like normal people do. Have some kids of my own, someone who looks up to me. But I ain't ever gonna have that. I'm just gonna spend the rest of my life living in the damn sewers with my three brothers and Sensei, because people just can't except what's different, what's not normal. No one will even know when we're gone because we're the only ones of our kind. We don't get the chance to have kids that'll carry on after we're gone, takin' part of us with them, our memories, so we won't be forever forgotten. Instead we spend our days practicing ninjitsu so we can protect the sorry people in this city, who are to blind to see how good they really do got it.

The guy who pisses me off the most is probably this one business man I see every morning. He's a pretty young guy, I'd say around late twenties early thirties. Every morning he walks outta his apartment building talking on his cell phone with his brief case in hand, wearin' his couple hundred dollar suit, which is freshly pressed and don't got any wrinkles. His shoes are polished and don't got any scuffs on them. But he's always walkin' with an attitude like he has the worst life ever. He seems angry 'bout something and just kinda pushes his way in front of people to hop in a cab and head off to work. Honestly, I don't know what the guys problem is. Looks to me like he should be pretty happy 'bout the way he's livin', but of course he's one of those people who ain't gonna be happy 'til he's sittin on his ass doin' nothin' all day with someone waitin' on him hand and foot…typical human. Don't realize how good he's got it.

Then I see this lady walkin' down the sidewalk with her kids. She's got five of 'em. Two are just babies an' they're bein' pushed in a stroller. Another one is holding her hand, as she pushes the first two along, while the fourth walks along the other side of her mom. The fifth kid is runnin' around and his mom is yellin' at him to come back and quit misbehavin'. She's dressed like she's goin' to work, and looks like she could strangle the kid. By the looks of it she's a single mom workin' a full time job so she can support her kids because her husband up an' left her. But man, I don't get it. How do you have a wife an' five kids an' just up an' leave? God what I would give to have that. But again, another human who just didn't realize how good he had it.

My attention's stolen from the woman and her kids when I see this man stumble from a bar into the street. He's dressed in his suit and tie from work yesterday, but it ain't nice and neat anymore. His suit's full of wrinkles an' the tie ain't snug around his neck anymore. It's been undone an' is draped 'round the back of his neck. The guy then stumbles his way over to the building an' starts pukin' his brains out. He must have had a rough day yesterday with work or maybe his wife or girlfriend, an' thought by goin' an' drinkin' all night it would fix his problems. Boy ain't he wrong. It'll probably just get 'im in more trouble. I know if Master Splinter caught me out drinkin' he'd have my shell for it. But you know, typical human. He's got a problem so he turns to alcohol for an easy fix, an' even then he don't realize just how good he's got it.

Now I see this guy pushin' a hot dog cart along the sidewalk, just below the place where I'm sittin' on the building. He's wearin' a white hat with a red an' white striped shirt an' white pants. I can hear him mumblin' 'bout how his life sucks, an' how he needs to get a normal job. Then he starts askin' himself how he got so unlucky to have been given such a terrible life, an' then he tells himself that one day he's gonna change it all, an' it'll be better for him. I feel a tear roll down my cheek, an' quickly brush it away, 'cause I ain't one to be cryin' over this crap. But that hit me hard. The man's right, he can change it all for himself. He can find a new job, he can get married, have kids an' make his life so much better. I envy him, if only I had that same chance. He may not know what a good life he's already got, but at least he realizes that he's got the power to change that, an' make somethin' more of it.

I start hearin' some music an' my attention's pulled away from the guy with the hot dog cart. Lookin' toward where it's comin' from I see this kid walkin' down the side of the street. He's carryin' his stereo up on his right shoulder while wavin' his hand around like the big time rappers do it. The kids got on some basketball jersey an' a do rag, with his baggy pants sagged so his boxer covered ass is hangin' out, jus' movin' down the street, to the beat. Kid looks 'bout my age, seventeen or eighteen, an' he's jus' livin' an' lovin' life. Damn if I could only have a piece of that kinda life, I'd be happier then you can know.

Next, I take notice of the homeless man sittin' at the corner of the building across from mine, at the entrance to the alley behind him. He's wearin' old dirty clothes that look like they ain't been washed since he first put 'em on, an' they probably haven't. He's got his cart beside him which is loaded up with everything that he's got. Right now he's sittin' tryin' to get the people who walk by to drop some spare change into the can he's got, so he might get a somewhat decent meal today. It makes me remember the days when we were little an' Master Splinter would take us to go with him at night while he searched the dumpsters for the meager bits of food we got. It's sad really that he's gotta live his life like that. Though if he really wanted to, he could still find a way to make his life better. Some way to earn some money jus' so he could eat every day. But he's still got yet to realize that he ain't got it so bad after all.

Next I look down at the alley just next to the building I'm on an' I see this guy wearin' a long black trench coat, a black stockin' cap, an' dark black sunglasses. A black car, with it's windows also blacked out, pulls up to the curb an' the guy walks over to it. The window roles down jus' a crack an' there are some whispers, then I see the exchange. The damn guy's a drug dealer. Those are the kinda guys that keep me an' my brothers busy at night. We spend most of our time out bustin' up drug deals. I hate those kinda things. That's the stuff that makes this city bad, the stuff that causes the news. Drug deals, robberies, murder, gangs, an' other crap that me an' my brothers try an' help bust up. If I could I would jump down there an' bust that guys ass, but it's the middle of the day, an' I ain't got my disguise with me, so I'm jus' gonna have to let it go. If only those people would realize how much better their lives would be without the drugs an' crap.

Then I look down the sidewalk past the drug dealer guy an' see this chick walkin' along flauntin' her stuff. Her clothes barely have enough material to cover herself, not that I'm complainin' but hey, what can I say, I am a guy after all. Turtle or not. But anyway, then I see her walk up to this guy an' she starts makin' these obscene gestures at him, an' is hangin' on him an' stuff. Yup, she's definitely a prostitute. Man, what kinda life is that? How can someone sell themselves out for sex? It's jus' crazy. That girl could have a normal life. She could have a decent job, a husband, kids, an' live happily not wonderin' what kinda diseases the next guy she's with has got. Instead she seems to think that's her only way through life, so she's jus' gonna throw it all away. It's sad really. I hate to see that.

As I look up an' glance around at the other buildings, I notice a guy standin' up on the ledge of the building next to the one I'm on. He's lookin' down an' instantly I know what he's about to do. Not givin' it a second thought I take a runnin' start an' execute a flip, clearin' the gap between buildings, landin' silently in the shadow of the coolin' vent behind the man.

"Don't do it."

The man whirls around tryin' to see me. It definitely scared him a little when he realized someone was up here with him.

"Wh-who's there?"

"You don't know me, but the name's Raphael. Now why don't you climb down off there, 'cause I know you don't really wanna do this."

"Oh yeah, and how would you know Raphael? You have no clue how bad my life is and I'd rather just end it here and now."

"Trust me, I've had my fair share of bad times in my life. I live a really rough life. So why don't you jus' come down off there an' tell me what's so bad that made you wanna jump."

So the guy steps down an' gets his first glance of me. Damn! This ain't gonna be good.

"Wh-what are you?"

"I'm a mutant turtle. Look I know it's weird, but I ain't gonna hurt you. I promise. I jus' wanna help you."

So the guy stands there an' jus' looks at me, but he don't scream, which is what most people do when they see me or my brothers.

"Alright, so you're a giant turtle. That's different, but I can handle it."

"So why don't you tell me what's wrong with your life that made you decide to do this. 'Cause I don't think I understand why you would wanna do it."

"Well, it started a couple weeks ago. Work got bad and so I started staying away from home, spending most of the time going to bars, getting drunk. Then I went home completely wasted one night and my wife decided she didn't want me around the kids, so she took them and left. Oh god, I love my kids. I have five kids…"

"Wait, you've got five kids?"

"Yeah. The youngest two are only three months old, they're twin boys. Then the next two are twins also, one's a boy and one's a girl, they're four years old. And my oldest, my precious little girl, is eight years old. God how I miss them. I know I was stupid, but if I could just have another chance, I'd do so much better. I'd be the best father ever and I wouldn't make the same stupid mistakes I did before."

"Look, I think I'm pretty sure I saw your wife an' kids earlier today. She definitely looked like she could use some help. Your little boy's an energetic little thing. I'm sure if you jus' go talk to her an' let her know what you jus' told me, she'll have you back."

So then the guy smiled, thanked me an' went in search of his wife.

As I walk back over to the edge of the building an' look out around the city, I can see that the days startin' to wind down an' people are startin' to head home after work in order to rest, jus' so they can get up an' do it all over again tomorrow.

I guess that means it's probably time for me to finally head back home an' maybe apologize to Leo 'bout last night, an' not comin' home. I know they gotta be worried. An' it hits me. Ya know, I guess I really don't have such a bad life after all. Sure I'm a mutant turtle an' can't wander above ground when people can see me. An' I don't have a great home, I live in the sewers. Sometimes it's hard for us to find food, especially if there's been a low crime rate an' we don't bust up to many deals, so we don't get any money. But in the end, I got my family. Master Splinter, Leonardo, Donatello, an' Michaelangelo, an' I know they all love an' care 'bout me, as I do them. Not that I could say that to them, too much mushy crap, but it is true. An' for that I'm lucky. An' I know that no matter what happens, they will always be there for me, an' I'll be there for them.


End file.
